Last updated on March 6th, 2025

These Ricotta Crepes are a low-carb alternative to classic English pancakes, which many people enjoy making on Shrove Tuesday.

With just five ingredients and only 1g of net carbs, you can savour these grain-free crepes on Pancake Day without missing out on a delicious treat.

Ricotta Crepes: Low-Carb English Pancakes

Low-carb Ricotta Crepes are easy to make and the perfect grain-free recipe substitute for the old-fashioned pancakes everyone in England goes wild about on Pancake Day, i.e. Shrove Tuesday. Do you miss making them? I certainly do.

These crepes are versatile, from fruit and whipped cream-filled crepes for dessert to a savoury protein wrap for lunch; this recipe is undoubtedly handy for Shrove Tuesday and beyond.

Handkerchief Pancakes

This recipe is one of my favourites because preparing these delightful crepes brings back memories from my childhood in England. It was a simpler time when I believed Pancake Day was the sole occasion for making thin, handkerchief-like pancakes. When the locals mentioned racing down the street with them, it referred to flipping pancakes in the air using a crepe pan, a traditional English custom that has existed for many years.

Versatile Ricotta Crepes

These Ricotta Crepes are similar to English pancakes, typically topped with sugar and lemon juice. However, for these low-carb crepes, you must substitute the white sugar with a natural sweetener to maintain lower carbohydrate levels. Ricotta crepes are also quite flexible and require only a handful of ingredients; as an added benefit, they can be used for savoury wraps.

Delicious with Sweetener and Lemon Juice

While I won’t be racing down the road tossing pancakes in the air, I may “toss” them at home with no one looking and enjoy them English style, sprinkled with sweetener and lemon juice, with a cup of coffee in hand.

What’s to love about Ricotta Crepes

• If you miss eating English pancakes, then these delicious crepes come very close to tasting like the original. 
• These crepes are low-carb, with 1g net carbs per crepe, and they are also gluten-free, made without flour and replaced with coconut flour.
• Psyllium husk amps up the fibre in this recipe, so there’s no need to add grains.
• Make these crepes with a few easy steps. Once you’ve mastered swirling the batter in the pan, you may even get the infamous TOSS out of a few.
• These crepes are pliable enough to be folded or rolled up, so you can customize them for savoury and sweet dishes. For lunch, fill them with deli meats or ice cream and low-carb fruits for dessert. Sometimes, I’ve used them as roti (flatbread) to accompany curry dishes.
• Ricotta Crepes store well in the refrigerator and are easy to freeze, which is convenient for meal prep.
• This recipe does not leave you with an ‘eggy’ taste as it uses liquid egg whites instead of whole eggs.

What is Shrove Tuesday?

Shrove Tuesday, often called Pancake Day, is the final day on the Christian calendar before Lent begins with Ash Wednesday. It marks the start of a 40-day fasting period leading up to Easter. Traditionally, it is a celebration for indulging in food, where all perishable and fatty items such as milk, eggs, flour, and butter are consumed. This practice coincidentally led to the creation of flat cakes, known as pancakes, to avoid the temptation of these ingredients during the upcoming fasting time.

Traditionally, it’s a time for feasting, when all dairy and fatty foods like milk, eggs, flour, and butter are used up. These coincidentally became the main ingredients in making flat cakes; hence the pancake, to avoid the temptation of eating them during the fasting period. 

Are there other names for Shrove Tuesday?

Shrove Tuesday is also called Carnival Tuesday or Pancake Tuesday, depending on where it is celebrated worldwide. It is most famously celebrated in New Orleans as Fat Tuesday, with a vast colourful carnival known as Mardi Gras, where Creole and Cajun dishes like Tiana’s Low-Carb Jambalaya become the main fare of the day.

Why do people toss and flip pancakes?

In England, Pancake Day is associated with tossing and flipping pancakes in the air while racing down the streets to the finish line. 

The pancake race has been an English celebration since 1445 and began in Olney. In this English town, a local woman ran to the Parish church while tossing a pancake in the air to prevent it from burning and avoid being late for service, thus beginning the tradition of the pancake race. 

Communities all over England participate in the pancake race, usually in fancy costumes, for an exciting, fun-filled activity and charity fundraising event. 

Low-Carb Ingredients to Make Ricotta Crepes or English Pancakes

Liquid egg whites – make the crepes light and soft without an eggy taste.

Ricotta Cheese – blends easily into the mixture, keeping the batter smooth. If you don’t have ricotta cheese on hand, try this recipe with cottage cheese, sour cream, or even Greek Yogurt. Alternatively, for a dairy-free option use coconut cream (the thick part that forms at the top of an unshaken can of coconut milk).

Coconut Flour – adds a little bulk to thicken the batter so it spreads evenly.

Ground Psyllium husk – provides fibre and helps to bind all the ingredients. Look for it in specialty stores or ask for it in South Asian grocery markets – it’s usually behind the cashier 😉 Ground flaxseed or Chia seeds may work with this recipe if you cannot find psyllium husk.

Salt – adds flavour to the batter.

Butter – for coating the pan.

How to make Low-Carb Ricotta Crepes or English Pancakes

Bring a flat crepe pan or frying pan to medium heat. Blitz all the ingredients (except butter) using an electric stick blender or food processor. The batter should be thin and smooth, so keep blending until no lumps are left from the ricotta cheese.

Melt about a teaspoon of butter in the pan. I use the end of a butter stick; it’s so much easier to coat the pan. Pour ⅓ cup of the batter into the centre of the pan. The batter will cook quickly as it hits the hot pan, so swirl the pan around quickly to cover the whole surface. You may need to fill in some gaps or shake the pan to and fro to let the batter spill into the gaps.

Now leave it alone to cook on one side until it has browned. Flip it over when the edges start to curl, or wait until the edges begin to shrink. Then, use a spatula to lift one side to see if it’s browning on the underside. Slide the spatula underneath and flip the crepe over.

Cook the crepe on the flipped side for a few minutes more. You may need to reduce the heat to prevent it from burning. Remove the crepe from the pan and transfer it to a warm plate. 

Melt butter in the pan and repeat, making crepes with the rest of the batter. Serve the crepes folded or rolled up and sprinkled with lemon juice and sweetener.

How Do I Get Perfectly Round Crepes?

If you’re anything like me, there’s always one edge of the pan with a gap without batter, so I add a dab of extra batter in the gaps to fill them up. It’s not cheating, and no one will know. Shh!

Swirling the Batter is the trick!

But seriously, the way to get a perfectly round shape is to swirl the batter quickly until most of it covers the pan right up to the edge. If there are a few gaps where the batter has fallen short, stop swirling and keep the pan straight, then give it a slight nudge or shake in a to-and-fro motion to help the batter fill in the gaps. It’s quite a neat trick; you can see how I do it in my Instagram post below!

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A post shared by Seeta | Plated Focus (@platedfocus)

Helpful Tips for making the best Ricotta Crepes

• Preheat the pan to medium heat while you make the batter.
• Use a ⅓ cup measuring jug or a ladle to pour the batter. 
• Ensure the batter doesn’t overcook the first side. Otherwise, the middle part will get crispy and not be pliable. 
• While making the crepes, the batter may begin to thicken as it sits in the container. I add a bit of extra egg white one spoonful at a time to bring it back to a pourable consistency.
• Once you flip the crepe over, let the flipped side cook for a few minutes. You may need to turn the heat down a little bit.
• Coat the pan with butter for each crepe to get a golden colour.
• Keep the pan at a constant temperature so the crepes brown evenly.

How to Serve Ricotta Crepes

Traditionally, English pancakes are served with lemon juice, sprinkled with sugar and rolled up, but you may like to try these ideas:

Sweet fillings:

• Strawberries and Keto Vanilla Ice cream
• Peanut butter and Chia Jam
• Blueberries with Whipped Cream
• Bananas (in moderation for low-carb) & Keto Maple Syrup
• Low-Carb Raspberry Cheesecake Mousse

Savoury fillings:

• Deli meats: Ham, Chicken, Turkey, Salami
• Cheese Slices
• Samosa filling (rutabaga, carrots & peas)
• Scrambled eggs, bacon and avocado
• Tex-Mex shredded chicken with tomatoes and guacamole.

Storage Tips

Storage:

Store ricotta crepes in a ziplock bag and keep them in the fridge for up to 5 days.

Freezing:

Lay parchment paper or wax paper between the crepes. Place them in a ziplock bag or container and freeze for up to one month.

Did you make this recipe?

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